The 2002-3 Ballet Association programme kicks off tonight with an interview with Tony Hall the Executive Director at The Royal Opera House. I would guess that a lot of people will have more than a few points to raise with Mr Hall.

An excellent evening at the Ballet Association yesterday. Tony Hall made a very good impression with his down to earth approach, his frankness and his ability to listen. He did not have an easy time as there were tough policy questions from his interviewer, David Bain, and a barrage of booking, cast list and similar issues from the hall.

At the end one audience member said that the evening had given her great hope for the future and there was general agreement.

I look forward to the Ballet Association account of the evening and we will post a link to the text as soon as it is available. I think it will provide a number of points for discussion. Just a reminder for anyone who was there that you shouldn’t post unapproved quotes from the interviewees here.

Here is the link to the interview with Tony Hall on the Ballet Association's website. Please bear in mind that this took place prior to Ross Stretton's resignation.

As I said earlier, I found it an encouraging evening. In particular, the support for new productions of the classics and new commissions and an acknowledgement that there was an imbalance in this respect with the opera was very encouraging. The explanation for the form of the Jubillee Gala is also welcome and removes one of the rods to beat Ross Stretton's back.

Personally I'm pleased that this ROH appointment has gone well to date and look forward to many more years of Tony Hall's management there. But do get those new ballets on stage!

Forthcoming meetings

On Wednesday 20th November the guest speaker will be Martin Harvey. Martin trained at the Royal Ballet School, where he danced the Wolf in 'Peter and the Wolf' and the Rake in 'The Rake's Progress'. He joined the company in 1996, was promoted to First Artist in 2000 and to Soloist this summer. Martin has created many roles in works presented in the Clore Studio and on Dance Bites. As well as dancing Mercutio and Tybalt, this last season culminated in his performance as Onegin.

The next meeting will be on Wednesday December 20th. Guest to be advised.

Meetings begin at 7.30 p.m. and are held at the Swedenborg Hall, off Bloomsbury Way (nearest tube Holborn). Doors open at 6.45 p.m. Admission: Members 3 Pounds, Concessionary members 2 Pounds, Guests 5 Pounds. Here is the link to the home page of theBallet Association's website

The latest newsletter from the Ballet Association gives details of some more forthcoming meetings:

As announced in the last newsletter, the guest speaker on Wednesday 20 November will be Martin Harvey. Martin trained at the Royal Ballet School, where he danced the Wolf in Peter and the Wolf and the Rake in The Rake’s Progress. He joined the Company in 1996, was promoted to First Artist in 2000 and to Soloist this summer. Never short of a word to say, Martin will be an entertaining guest.

For Christmas there is a special meeting on Wednesday December 18th (not 20th as wrongly stated in the last newsletter). Advertised as A swan last night, a snowflake tomorrow, the Association welcomes artists from the corps de ballet Helen Crawford, Laura McCulloch and Gemma Sykes.

Meetings begin at 7.30 p.m. and are held at the Swedenborg Hall, off Bloomsbury Way (nearest tube Holborn). Doors open at 6.45 p.m. Admission: Members £3, Concessionary members £2, Guests £5.

The Ballet Association played host to Deborah Bull, ex-Principal of the Royal Ballet and now Director of ROH Too! Here's my favourite quote from the interview:

Quote:

Deborah expressed regrets about the stark separation of classical ballet and modern dance. She hoped that, through the ADI, modern dance would become an integral part of the work of the Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera House. Michael Kaiser was hugely supportive of Deborah, when she took up the ADI at the beginning. When Tony Hall took over, he needed to make sense of both spaces, the Clore Studio and the Linbury Theatre. The latter had a mixed profile, but was essentially a receiving house with no separate funding and was limited to accepting companies who wished to hire it. Tony Hall asked Deborah to take responsibility for the artistic direction of the two spaces. She knew she would be retiring shortly from the Royal Ballet and welcomed the opportunity to diversify her career.

The December meeting featured an interview with Gemma Sykes, Laura McCulloch & Kristen McNally by David Bain. There are fascinating insights into the life in the corps, including a discussion of typical working schedules:

Quote:

Our guests told us that they had been working very hard in the current week, not only dancing in Swan Lake, but rehearsing The Nutcracker, Scenes de Ballet, the new production of Kylian's Sinfonietta and The Sleeping Beauty. The previous day they had attended class at 10.30, a rehearsal of Sinfonietta from 12 to 2, rehearsals of The Nutcracker and Sinfonietta from 2.30 to 5.30 and finally an emergency call for Swan Lake from 5.30 to 6.30. When a member of the corps de ballet is ill or injured, they are replaced by a colleague or by a student. Gail Taphouse will call an emergency rehearsal, usually at less than 24 hours' notice, to enable the replacement to learn the moves and the placings.

The [url=http://www.balletassociation.co.uk/reports/snowflakes.html] full interview[/url] is available on the Ballet Association's website.

*************************************

The November meeting saw Martin Harvey interviewed by Joan Seaman. Here is an excerpt:

Quote:

Asked about the future, Martin indicated that it is very simple. He wants to dance Rudolf in Mayerling. He saw it when he was about 12, with Irek and Viviana, from a box. He saw in this what he wanted to aim at. He talked of the power on stage in this performance. He has learnt the part as cover and sees David Wall as his biggest mentor..... Martin spoke of the Company being fortunate in having the ‘best rep in the world’ and of the wonderful music in Song of the Earth, another ballet he hopes to dance. Martin also spoke of the importance of new choreography and the personal satisfaction of having a new role created on you.

David Howard is giving a lecture/ demonstration class in the Clore Studio on Thursday 30th January at 7.30pm. This meeting is already sold out. No tickets will be available on the day.

The guest on Thursday 20th February will be Jonathan Cope. Jonathan requires no introduction. He joined the Company in 1982 and was promoted to Principal in 1986. Jonathan has just received the South Bank Show Award for his performances last year in Mayerling, Tryst and Carmen. As this will be a popular meeting the BA suggests that members arrive early. It may not be possible to admit latecomers if the hall is full.

The guest on Wednesday 5th March will be soloist Bennet Gartside. Ben joined the Company in 1995, having attended the Royal Ballet School, and was promoted to soloist at the end of last season. He danced Prince Gremin in Onegin to critical acclaim last year, as well as both Mercutio and Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet and Escamillo in Carmen. A regular in programmes of new works in the Clore Studio, Ben also created a role in Twyla Tharp’s Mr Worldly Wise. Ben is a lively speaker, so expect an enjoyable evening.

Dates of meetings later in the year:

Wednesday 2nd April (a ballerina is promised!) No meeting in May, due to the dinner (see below). Wednesday 18th June Wednesday 9th July

Meetings begin at 7.30 p.m. and are held at the Swedenborg Hall, off Bloomsbury Way (nearest tube Holborn). Doors open at 6.45 p.m. Admission: Members £3, Concessionary members £2, Guests £5. Here is the link to the home page of theBallet Association's website

Annual Dinner 2003 The Annual Dinner will be held at 8.00pm on Thursday 15th May, at the Rubens Hotel in Buckingham Palace Road. This event is for Members who are allowed to bring one guest. More information from,

Report of lecture/demonstration class given by David Howard with the participation of Tamara Rojo, Brian Maloney & Tim Matiakis Clore Studio, Royal Opera House, London. Report written by Kenneth Leadbeater &nbsp &nbsp For the first time, the Ballet Association held its monthly meeting in the Clore Studio. This was a very special meeting. David Howard, a regular guest teacher with the Royal Ballet, gave a private demonstration of his teaching methods. Before the class began, he spoke about his career and his teaching methodology. The meeting sold out within a few days of being announced. Unfortunately, poor weather conditions meant that some with tickets were unable to get to the meeting. However, the meeting was still the largest in the Association’s history.

David was joined by Tamara Rojo, Brian Maloney and Tim Matiakis, who had generously agreed to give up an evening to participate in the class. David Howard had worked extensively with Tamara and Brian both here and in America, where he is based. He had worked with Tim over a period of time, when he was recovering from an injury. Sometimes David works with dancers up to 8 p.m., an indication of their commitment, and his.

Just up on the Ballet Association's website is the interview with Jonathan Cope, a mainstay of the Royal Ballet for a long time.

Report of an interview of Jonathan Cope by David Bain for The Ballet Association Swedenborg Hall, London 20 February 2003

David Bain welcomed Jonathan to a packed meeting. He had last spoken to The Ballet Association in 1996 and previously in November 1983!

Jonathan was injured at present. He had last danced in Swan Lake. He had been very disappointed to miss Winter Dreams and particularly Manon. Following on his success in Mayerling at the beginning of the season, he had thought that his time had come. He had undergone last minute injections and acupuncture, but all to no avail. He was jealous of Laurent Hilaire, who had replaced him in Manon. However, he had once danced Romeo with a cracked rib. If one was in pain, it was no good. The mind might be willing, but the body said no. He hoped to be back as quickly as possible.

Jonathan spoke about his recent performances of Mayerling. He had danced it once, a long time ago, with Gillian Revie at a matinee. “I was terrible,” he confesses. This time, he took many months to prepare. He felt that the role offers a natural character, whose life comes across on stage. He spoke of Sylvie Guillem’s portrayal of Marguerite and Manon, both roles which he considered were connected with her as a person.

Also available on the Association's website is this interview with Bennett Gartside:

Report of an interview of Bennet Gartside by Joan Seaman Swedenborg Hall, London 5 March 2003

Another packed audience welcomed Bennet Gartside as the Ballet Association’s guest to their March meeting.

Asked about how he started in ballet, Bennet compared himself to Billy Elliot! He comes from Lancaster, where his sister attended dance classes. One week he joined in and has never looked back, although his sister eventually stopped dancing. He spoke of the support given by his parents. His father was very different from that shown in Billy Elliot. So much so, that his parents eventually moved south and became house parents for students in the Upper School. His teacher encouraged him to audition to become a Junior Associate of the Royal Ballet. He was successful, but in those days JAs met only in London, requiring him to get up at 4.30am every fourth Saturday in order to get there on time. He then auditioned successfully for White Lodge, where his first teacher was Christine Beckley. He was later taught by A Grigoriev.

He successfully moved through the school and joined the Upper School, where he remembers being taught stagecraft by Stephen Jefferies. ‘This was so memorable and very influential’. He also has memories of being taught by Genesia Rosato, Sandra Conolly and David Drew. Julie Lincoln was teacher of his graduate class.

- Christopher Saunders, the Royal Ballet Principal Character Artist, has accepted the invitation to become the new President of the Association for the 2003-4 season.

- Forthcoming meetings will take place on Wednesdays, 18th June and 9th July. Details of speakers will be announced in the next newsletter.

- Looking forward to next season, the first two meetings will be on Wednesdays, 17th September and 15th October. The meeting on 15th October will be preceded by the AGM, where the guest will be the Association's Patron, Monica Mason, who will talk about Sir Kenneth MacMillan, the Russian Tour and the programme for 2003-4.

Meetings begin at 7.30 p.m. and are held at the Swedenborg Hall, off Bloomsbury Way (nearest tube Holborn). Doors open at 6.45 p.m. Admission: Members £3, Concessionary members £2, Guests £5. Here is the link to the home page of theBallet Association's website

Wednesday 9th July - Mara Galeazzi, First Soloist. She has performed many roles, including Tatiana in "Onegin", Mary Vetsera and Countess Larisch in "Mayerling", Juliet, Firebird, "Thais" and numerous created roles in Ashley Page’s ballets. Mara will be speaking just after the Company returns from Moscow.

Thursday 11th September - choreographer Cathy Marston.

Wednesday 15th October - after the AGM, the guest will be the Association's Patron, Monica Mason.

Wednesday 9th July - Mara Galeazzi, First Soloist. She has performed many roles, including Tatiana in "Onegin", Mary Vetsera and Countess Larisch in "Mayerling", Juliet, Firebird, "Thais" and numerous created roles in Ashley Page’s ballets. Mara will be speaking just after the Company returns from Moscow.

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